The embodiments herein relate generally to carriage systems, and more particularly, to a mobile application-controlled undercarriage.
Currently non-motorized vehicles are generally manually pushed and have no features to help automatically steer them to a destination. Wheelchair-bound passengers rely on airlines' contracted staff or employees to push them and their wheelchairs to their gates prior to boarding the plane. Due to shortage in staffing, some customers need to wait for an available person to do this service for them. In some cases, wheelchair-bound customers are forced to seek for a companion to travel by air just because they need someone to push their wheelchair for them. This restricts their freedom and sense of independence. As the population matures and baby boomers retire, airlines will see more and more people travelling on wheelchairs and needing assistance in order to get to their gates. This will increase their labor costs while decreasing their effectiveness in meeting the demand for wheelchair pushers. Some locations, such as airports offer motorized wheel carts for moving luggage around but not for moving people around. Some locations provide an automated wheelchair itself but that leaves the wheelchair owner in a quandary as to what to do with their own wheelchair.
As can be seen, there is a need in large areas such as airports, to provide a system that motorizes manually pushed vehicles so that users can keep their personal vehicle yet still travel more quickly to a destination.